Jay-Z Promotes 'Decoded' On Jon Stewart's Show

Jay-Z hit up Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" last night (Nov. 17) to continue promo on his "Decoded" book, and touched on topics like how people view him, the growth of hip-hop and Richard Pryor.

Video: Jay-Z on Jon Stewart Show

"I don't worry about that," Jay said when Stewart asked him if he is affected at all with what people think of him. "The basis of the book is that I care about the culture and rap and it being a respectable form of art. The book is surrounded around these songs but also a generation of kids. We grew up around the same time as rap... and there were a whole bunch of things happening -- Reaganomics, crack, cocaine. It's basically a story behind those songs."

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When questioned about the growth of rap, Jay said -- like he's expressed in many interviews prior -- that rap is "the thing that saved his life."

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Stewart compared rap to the life of Richard Pryor and how he came to be one of the most celebrated comedians, and Jay-Z agreed. "The thing about rap is that it's always dismissive. It was viewed as a fad and then it became a scapegoat for America," he said. "I'm not talking about all rap, 'cause some of it is sh*t and some of it is great. But great rap, provocative rap that's based on real life subjects and emotions."